Ivory Coast cocoa crop developing well but more rain needed, say farmers

ABIDJAN: Top grower Ivory Coast's cocoa crop is developing well but rainfall was below average last week and needs to pick up to bolster the upcoming main crop harvest, farmers said on Monday.

Small and medium-sized pods are plentiful on the trees and soil moisture is good, meaning that the main crop should get off to a strong start in October, the farmers said.

But they cautioned that the main crop, which runs through March, would not reach its full potential and bean quality would suffer early next year without significant rainfall in September and October.

"For the moment, we notice a good development of the pods on the trees. It rained a lot this year in June and July compared to last year," said state agronomist Emile Jagou, who advises farmers in the coastal regions of San Pedro and Sassandra.

In the wider Soubre region, which is at the heart of the cocoa belt, farmers said they were pleased with the sunshine but hoped for more rain.

"The harvests in October and November are certain. But we need strong rains in the coming weeks to guarantee it for December and especially good quality starting in January," said Fran?ois Kouadio, who farms near Soubre.  Data collected by Reuters showed that rainfall in Soubre region, which includes San Pedro and Sassandra, was at 1.6 millimetres (mm) last week, 14.3 mm below the five-year average.  In the centre-western region of Daloa, which accounts for a quarter of Ivory Coast's output, farmers said they were satisfied with the weather but that more rains would strengthen the size of the crop beginning in December.

"It's true that it is not very hot but we need enough rain. Otherwise we won't have enough pods on the trees," said Antoine Gnankan, who farms in the outskirts of Daloa.  Data showed that rainfall in Daloa was 7.9 mm last week, 16.1 mm below the five-year average.  Farmers reported similar conditions in other regions. In the western region of Man, rainfall was less than half the five-year average. In the southern region of Divo, rainfall was 1.4 mm last week, 11.6 mm below average.

Rainfall was also well below average in the southern region of Agboville, Aboisso in the east and Yamoussoukro in the centre.

Average temperatures in the cocoa-growing regions ranged from 23.5 to 25.6 degrees Celsius last week, slightly higher than average.